Strategy development based on intangibles in SMEs – an integrated approach

The approach in this paper is based on the principles of action research and rapid prototyping. The paper shows the current status of a ‘bottom-up’ research process dedicated to continuously developing and improving management instruments that suit the requirements of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): pragmatic, easy-to-use and generating direct practical benefit. As a result, this paper links the concept of intangibles to the practical strategy development process in SMEs. The integration shown concerns several challenges: (1)?Integrate the internal and external perspective on intangibles, and, by that, link the concept of intellectual capital (IC) as a resource-based view with the concept of customer value as a market-based view. (2)?Integrate the theoretical concept of IC with a methodology for comprehensive strategy development. (3)?Integrate the formulation and implementation of business strategies taking into account the actual practice in SMEs.     

Towards an econophysics view of intellectual capital dynamics: from self-organized criticality to the stochastic frontier

The paper begins with research studying the concept and nature of Intellectual Capital (IC), as well as how close IC firms are to the stochastic frontier. Then basic concepts of complexity theory – such as agents, self-organized criticality (SOC), connectivities, fractals, and power laws (PLs) – are used to distinguish between two kinds of IC firms’ success: traditional SOC applications to how firms maintain their position in a changing industry vs. how an IC firm (such as Apple) creates a new stochastic frontier. The research sets up PLs as indicators of whether or not firms and industries are SOC-effective and includes propositions about: (1) How IC firms benefit from complexity dynamics and SOC; (2) How PL distributions are indicators of efficacious SOC and adaptivity; and (3) Why IC attributes serve to create more transient dynamics pertaining to the stochastic frontier and the rest of the industry's rank/frequency distribution.     

Managing Indian IT professionals for global competitiveness: the role of human resource practices in developing knowledge and learning capabilities for innovation

Little is known about how human resource practices contribute towards the competitiveness of people based-knowledge intensive organisations in developing countries. This paper examines the role of human resource practices in developing knowledge and learning capabilities for innovation in the Indian information technology services sector. The study draws from the experience of a sample of 11 of the largest information technology service providers (ITSPs) in India and is based on in-depth interviews. The main finding suggests that the talent management architecture of ITSPs that comprises human resource practices and the development of knowledge and learning capabilities is the main drivers of innovation. A conceptual framework showing the link between human resource practices, knowledge and learning capabilities and innovation of ITSPs is developed followed by the limitations of the study and avenues for future research.     

Knowledge creating theory in retrospect and prospect

Knowledge creating theory has become one of the major frameworks used widely in the fields of knowledge management and other management studies. However, the knowledge creating theory was not just simply a made-in-Japan theory. It has emerged from a series of English and Japanese publications. Therefore, research questions and arguments in this study are identified and reviewed to portray the development of knowledge creating theory and to synthesise their arguments with organisational and managerial studies. This article reviews the content and process of the knowledge creating theory along with discussions from different streams in management and organisation studies. The result of this study sheds light on how the knowledge creating theory developed as well as perceiving its future development.     

Louis IX in Medieval Arabic Sources: The Saint,the King,and the Sicilian Connection

This article examines the portrayal of Louis IX in medieval Arabic historiography to show the importance of cross-cultural Mediterranean interaction. It argues that the image of Louis was influenced by information originating from the Sicilian Hohenstaufen court and reports that Frederick II sent to Egypt. Arab historians connected to the courts of Frederick and Manfred disseminated a “Sicilian narrative” that shaped Louis's portrayal in Arabic historiography. This argument on the importance of cross-cultural transfer in understanding Arabic historiography is buttressed by reports about the King, the Pope, and the Emperor that are traced back to the entourage of prominent Muslims closely linked to Sicily. Moreover, it is argued that Arab authors were aware of Louis's proto-sanctity and pious reputation. This led to the infusion of medieval Arabic historiography with Western ideas about sacrosanctity. Finally, this research assesses how the portrayal of King Louis during his captivity was used in internal Muslim rivalries.     

网球运动对中老年人健康影响的比较分析

旨为探讨运动对中老年人的健康影响。通过对 4 0名中老年业余网球运动者及对照进行医学检测及分析。结果表明①运动组血压数值、体得指数及甘油三酯数值均明显低于对照组。②运动组高血压、高血脂、肥胖、异常心电图及脂肪肝检出率明显低于对照组。③女教工及 50岁以上教工运动组血压、血脂及体重指数影响显著。结论 :运动对中老年人健康影响明显 ,是预防心血管疾病及与肥胖有关的一系列疾病的有效保健措施之一 ;对进入更年期的中老年妇女影响更为明显     

Does intensity really matter regarding aerobic exercise reductions in wave reflection and central hemodynamics? Commentary on "The effect of acute aerobic exercise on central arterial stiffness,wave reflections,and hemodynamics in adults with diabetes: A randomized cross-over design"by Way et al.

We read with great interest the study by Way et al.1 pub-lished in this journal, which described and compared the acute changes in central arterial stiffness (A...     

Reinventing the public sector in Africa through knowledge management

There is extensive coverage in literature of knowledge management (KM) implementation based on private sector entities. Although recent trends have been characterised by a shift towards understanding KM in the public sector organisations, there is very little focus on the public sector entities in Africa. KM has become popular in modern organisations because it is capable of enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of entities if properly implemented. While the explosion of the internet has seen the emergence of public sector transformation programmes such as e-government plans, most African states have wholly adopted these without due consideration to the structural constraints they would face in their implementation. Having observed that e-government is technology-based and most African states lack the necessary information technology (IT) tools to effectively implement it, my proposition in this paper is that the most viable option of transforming the public sector in Africa could be through KM, rather than e-government. Nevertheless, e-government plans in African states should be implemented as a component of the overall KM strategy.     

Content and knowledge provision service – a way to build intellectual capital in learning organizations

This paper presents the concept and the implementation of the Content and/or Knowledge Provision (CKP) service. The service is developed as a part of research within Intelligent Learning Extended Organization, an 7th Framework Program for R&D project in the area of technology-enhanced learning. The project aimed at enhancing cross-organizational Learning and Knowledge Building (LKB) practices at workplaces, leading to continuous growth of organization’s intellectual capital. By using the CKP service, employees can upload different kinds of knowledge assets into a knowledge repository, annotate them and (re-)discover relevant ones by performing semantic search over the knowledge repository. Hence, the service effectively serves as a content and knowledge-sharing facility and semantic search engine within a learning organization. Furthermore, CKP enables collaborative manipulation and annotation of knowledge assets in the repository, thus supporting all three components of intellectual capital.     

Managing supply chain knowledge-based linkages for improving operational performance

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the role of internal and external knowledge-based linkages across the supply chain in achieving better operational performance. It investigates how knowledge is accumulated, shared, and applied to create organization-specific knowledge resources that increase and sustain the organization’s competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a single case study with multiple, embedded units of analysis, and the social network analysis (SNA) to demonstrate the impact of internal and external knowledge-based linkages across multiple tiers in the supply chain on the organizational operational performance. The focal company of the case study is an Italian manufacturer supplying rubber components to European automotive enterprises. Findings – With the aid of the SNA, the internal knowledge-based linkages can be mapped and visualized. We found that the most central nodes having the most connections with other nodes in the linkages are the most crucial members in terms of knowledge exploration and exploitation within the organization. We also revealed that the effective management of external knowledge-based linkages, such as buyer company, competitors, university, suppliers, and subcontractors, can help improve the operational performance. Research limitations/implications – First, our hypothesis was tested on a single case. The analysis of multiple case studies using SNA would provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between the knowledge-based linkages at all levels of the supply chain and the integration of knowledge. Second, the static nature of knowledge flows was studied in this research. Future research could also consider ongoing monitoring of dynamic linkages and the dynamic characteristic of knowledge flows. Originality/value – To the best of our knowledge, the phrase ‘knowledge-based linkages’ has not been used in the literature and there is lack of investigation on the relationship between the management of internal and external knowledge-based linkages and the operational performance. To bridge the knowledge gap, this paper will show the importance of understanding the composition and characteristics of knowledge-based linkages and their knowledge nodes. In addition, this paper will show that effective management of knowledge-based linkages leads to the creation of new knowledge and improves organizations’ operational performance.